


Matchmaking Chicken of Destiny

by Icy_Touch



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Friendship to Love, Humor, Moana is an adult, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 09:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13232523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icy_Touch/pseuds/Icy_Touch
Summary: Destiny and romance work in mysterious ways. In this case: through the misadventures of the gloriously unintelligent Hei-Hei.Because after all, the opposite of a cockblock is a matchmaking chicken.





	Matchmaking Chicken of Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my BFF for encouraging this insanity, and my beta [ noop norp ](http://noopnorp.tumblr.com/)for ensuring the insanity wasn't riddled with grammatical errors. I love you both.

Moana made her way down to the beach with a sigh of contentment. There was nothing like the sea to take the edge off a long day.

It had been two weeks since the islanders had left for their annual wayfinding, and for the first time in years, Moana was not with them.

On previous voyages, Moana had been indispensable. A master wayfinder trained by Maui himself, teaching, reminding, and cajoling them into learning things that used to come as easily to their people as breathing. It was like waking up after a long rest, and the joy on her people’s faces as they learned and explored buoyed Moana’s confidence in her leadership. She may not have been exactly the leader her father had envisioned, but she could still do well by her people.

Even her father had come around to the idea of wayfinding eventually. On the maiden voyage of Motunui’s people, both he and her mother had joined Moana on the largest of the boats, despite his fear that the ocean might again claim what he cherished. Moana’s heart had been so full that day as her people finally went beyond the reef to test their skills in the open ocean.

Maui had flown overhead that day in hawk form, screeching his approval before flying off into the distance. He hadn’t stayed and while she wished he had, she also understood why maybe he didn’t. He’d just gotten off the island where he’d been trapped for over 500 years after all, she’d assumed that he had demi-god things to do.

She just hadn’t expected that those things would mean he disappeared with no explanation.

Pushing the hurt aside, Moana stepped onto the sand of the beach where her grandmother used to dance. The beach was almost always deserted, even now that her people were no longer afraid of the sea. Moana loved it. Not only did it remind her of her grandmother, but it was a beautiful place to connect to the ocean.

Moana knelt by the shoreline and the sea surged around her, giving her what Moana had always thought of as the ocean’s hug.

“I missed you too, old friend. Next year I promise I will voyage again,” Moana said softly. She felt the water tighten around her, then release and recede back. Over the years, Moana had found that, while the sea wasn’t the most articulate conversationalist (though it could certainly get its point across when it was of the mind to), it was one of the best listeners.

“I know it’s been a while. Since Mum and Dad set out with the rest of the voyagers two weeks, I’ve been busy. Way busier than I expected. I suppose Dad was right and that I did need to re-connect with the villagers who chose to stay on the island …”

Because she had been so integral to her people learning how to wayfind again she had been on the sea whenever she could, assisting those who wanted to learn to be as proficient as she was. So that the people of Motunui could once again be all that they had been. She had been filled with that purpose.

It had taken a quiet but firm discussion with her parents in the last rainy season to remind her that the people from the village who had taken up the mantle of wayfinders were not the only ones she was responsible for.

“Moana, you have done wonders for our people, and in the past few years your mother and I have stayed at the village to look after those not called to the wayfinding life. But I think this year it is you who should stay. It has been four years since you set out to restore the heart of Te Fiti, three years since you were on the island for longer than the rainy season. You need to re-acquaint yourself with the village life, as these are your people too,” Tui had said to her.

Moana had flushed at the remark, at the implication she did not care for all her people, but her mother had spoken before Moana could issue a retort to her father. “Moana, there have been changes since you last were in the village during the growing season. You have been teaching your people wayfinding, which is your passion and your calling, but you are the daughter of the chief as well, and the chief must know all about all her people.” Sina spoke gently, threading her fingers through her daughter’s.

“We were hoping that this year you would leave the wayfinding to your mother and me, while you stayed and reconnected with the people who take care of our island while we sail and discover new ones,” Tui explained, taking Moana’s other hand. “I know it is your calling to seek out new things and make discoveries, but the changes in the old ways of the people are also important to learn. There’s also the supervision of trade with the other islands we have found through wayfinding, ensuring that they do right by our people and that our people do right by them.”

Moana shifted a bit at this. She knew that there had been changes to the way of life on the island since the tradition of wayfinding had been revived. She’d heard the villagers discussing it in the rainy season, the only season the entire village was present on the island. But she’d been so caught up in teaching her people who they had been and who they could learn to be again that she hadn’t given it the attention it deserved.

“I’ve been selfish, haven’t I?” she whispered, and her mother squeezed her hand.

“No Moana, that isn’t what we’re saying,” Sina replied firmly. “You’ve been following your heart. You’ve been teaching our people something only you could teach, and your father and I would never want to take that away from you. It’s just about balance. When we wayfind, we keep home in our mind as the point we navigate to and from. You taught us that. We want to make sure you have a strong enough tie to home to find your way back. What we also want to avoid is the people thinking that you only care for those who take up the wayfinding tradition. As a leader, you must balance duty with your heart’s calling. As your parents, it’s our job to point out to you when you may need to give that balance more of your attention.”

“Moana, the people take confidence from you and your belief in them. We’re not asking you to take a break from wayfinding if you feel that our people need you to survive on the waters, but if you feel they’re ready to stand on their own, on our own, then it may be time to let us. Let those who have had your attention learn what to do without it and continue to grow, and let those who you have not been teaching the way of the waters re-teach you the ways of the island,” Tui said, looking at his wife and his daughter with love.

Moana reflected that her people were very lucky to be led by two people who cared about them as much as her parents did. They were almost as lucky as she was to have them as parents.

“I think that everyone will be fine wayfinding without me for the year,” Moana replied, squeezing both her parents’ hands before releasing them. “You’re right, the ocean has been getting a lot of my attention recently. It won’t hurt to reconnect with the island.”

Both her parents had smiled at her, and the next day word had gone out among the villagers that Moana would be staying on the island. There had been an outcry at first—the people were unsure of setting out without their master wayfinder—but between assurances from Moana and her parents, the villagers soon got used to the idea. Those who were to remain on the island became especially enthusiastic that Moana would be staying and kept seeking her out as preparations were made for the departure of her parents and the rest of the wayfinders.

Moana had smiled and accepted it, understanding that the islanders were eager to have her stay and re-learn their way of life. This feeling became even clearer when the preparations were finished and the wayfinders set out, leaving Moana on the island.

Even though she loved sailing and the sea, there was something to be said of staying with the community on the island and having the people there show her changes they had made to the things she had known since childhood. Many were done to compensate for the fact that there were fewer people on the island to do the work, but some were to celebrate the return to wayfinding of the rest of their people. Moana swelled with pride thinking of all the ways her people had embraced their roots, even the ones who did not wayfind themselves.

It had been two weeks since the wayfinders left, and Moana was finally settling into a routine. In the morning and afternoons, she assisted her people with the work of the island and being chief, but in the evenings, her time was her own. And while she had plenty of things to occupy her time with, she missed the ocean. So tonight she decided to go out and dance with the ocean the way her grandmother had.

_Balance,_ her parents had said. Moana would certainly try.

Moana was dragged back to the present moment when she heard a rustle in the bushes and a familiar confused clucking sound. She smiled. Hei-Hei had gotten even more attached to her after their adventure with Maui, to the point where he rarely let her out of his sight.

“Hi there, Hei-Hei. Come to dance with the ocean as well?” she asked teasingly, not at all surprised when the chicken ignored her and tried to walk right into the ocean. The ocean wasn’t having it, and sent Hei-Hei rocketing back into Moana with a jet of water that somehow managed to convey the sentiment of “I think NOT.”

Laughing, Moana carried Hei-Hei closer to the foliage and set down some seed for him to peck at.

“Hei-Hei, while I empathize with your desire to be out on the ocean, we both know it’s better if you don’t try to walk into it directly. You can’t swim,” she chided, amused as the bird considered the food for a few seconds before pecking the driftwood next to him instead.

Moana shook her head. “You’re lucky Maui’s not here--he’d threaten to eat you again,” she told him, ignoring the stab of pain that accompanied the words. It was one thing waiting for her parents to come back—she knew that, barring any disasters, they would return to her and the island. They loved Moana and Motunui far too much to do otherwise.

With Maui, it was another matter entirely. While they had certainly had their share of disagreements and petty arguments (he had peed in the water as he taught her to wayfind, for goodness’ sake!), she had thought that by the end of it they had become friends. People who valued each other.

Apparently he hadn’t felt the same, because Moana hadn’t seen him since the maiden voyage of her people. And that had hurt. But what was a girl to do when a demigod decided to stay away?

“Do you ever miss him, Hei-Hei? I know I do, and if you got as attached to him as you did to me you must miss him a little threats, to eat you notwithstanding. Not that you understood him, or me for that matter, because you are a chicken.”

Hei-Hei pecked even harder at the driftwood in response. Moana half-heartedly tried to guide him back to the seed, but Hei-Hei refused to cooperate. He was determined to have at the driftwood.

Smiling and shaking her head slightly, Moana turned her back on the chicken and took a few steps forward to return to the shoreline. Maybe he would find bugs or something in the driftwood? Moana just hoped he didn’t try to eat the wood itself. Determined to begin what she’d come out here to do, Moana raised her arms to dance when she heard a sound from behind her. Turning to see what trouble Hei-Hei had managed to get himself into this time, Moana realised the chicken was choking on something.

Hurrying over to assist (this was not a new problem after all) Moana was kneeling down to help the bird when she distinctly heard a muffled curse come from the chicken’s neck. Moana had time to think “What on EARTH” before there was a bright flash, and she stumbled back. Suddenly before her was Maui, wearing the most unimpressed look Moana had ever seen, fishhook in one hand and Hei-Hei dangling from one of his fingers on the other.

Raising his hand so he could look the chicken in the eye, Maui scowled. “I thought you learned last time that trying to eat me was a very bad idea.”

“Hei-Hei doesn’t learn anything,” Moana replied, still sitting in the sand where she’d fallen, her brain desperately trying to catch up to the situation. “It’s one of his charms,” she added absently, her mind pointing out over and over again that it was Maui! Maui was here!

The demigod turned to face Moana, one eyebrow raised. When Moana continued to gape at him, unable to find words, he smirked, put Hei-Hei down next to the seed Moana had left out, then turned back to face Moana. Moana hardly noticed. Something was bothering her about Maui’s entrance. If he had been in the driftwood when Hei-Hei had started pecking at it….

“Speechless at the sight of me, curly? I understand, you’re not the first human to be overcome by my inhuman good looks, and--let’s not kid ourselves--you’re not going to be the last,” he said, tossing his hair over his shoulder to show off his bulging muscles and intricate tattoos. “I take it you missed me, then?”

…Then he _had_ heard what she’d said to the bird. Everything. And rather than showing himself then, he had opted to not reveal his presence until the chicken swallowed him and he _had_ to transform. Maui had been _spying on her_.

That woke Moana up. Quickly she scrambled to her feet, then scrambled over to Maui, grabbed his ear and pulled it _hard_.

“Ow! What the hell, curly?! You don’t see me for years and this is how you say hello?” Maui replied, trying to get his ear back. Moana held fast.

“Let me get this straight,” she said, shaking Maui’s ear when he continued to try to pull away from her grip. “I don’t see you for years, you come to my island in disguise to spy on me–and don’t tell me you weren’t! Why else would you have been in bug form and hiding in driftwood rather than come and say hello? The only reason I even know you’re here is because Hei-Hei ate you and you HAD to transform back to avoid being digested by a chicken! And then you have the audacity to tell me I must have been rendered speechless by your _looks_ instead of considering that maybe I’m surprised because you haven’t visited or come to see me for _years_!” Moana cried, punctuating every sentence with another shake of Maui’s ear. “What is _wrong_ with you?!”

Maui chose this moment to straighten back up and gently but firmly remove Moana’s hand. “Easy there, princess! Anyone would think you were upset--”

“I AM upset! Where have you been?! How long have you been spying on me and not having the decency to let me know you were around?!” Moana demanded, taking a step back so she could more fully glare at the demigod before her.

“It might surprise you to know, curly, but in a thousand years without me to fight them, the seas around here became infested with monsters. Since you and your island were so focused on learning how to wayfind, I figured you would be grateful if I made sure the waters around you were safe. You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

Moana made a strangled noise. She was still mad at Maui, because honestly who just disappears for four years–but she also found herself wanting to laugh.

“I appreciate the fact that you wanted to look after my people,” Moana said, determined to maintain control of the conversation. “In fact, for keeping them safe I can’t thank you enough. But why didn’t you make yourself known to us? Why didn’t you give a sign, any sign that you were around, that you were okay? I sailed across the ocean with you, Maui, you taught me how to be what my ancestors were, we faced monsters and restored the heart of Te Fiti together. And then you just disappeared! And now that I see you again, finally, only because you got caught spying! By a chicken! _Yes,_ Maui, I missed you. But if you do not explain why you’ve been so absent and sneaky and… _everything_ , I will ask the ocean to sink you every time you set sail.”

The ocean chose this moment to send a jet of water full speed into Maui’s face. It also whacked him with a rock from its depths, then flung seaweed at the demigod to ensure its disapproval had been made abundantly clear.

“I don’t think I like it when the pair of you gang up on me,” Maui muttered, plucking the seaweed from his face.

Moana sighed, suddenly tired. “Seriously, Maui. An explanation would be nice.”

A strange expression flickered over Maui’s features. For an instant, he looked as vulnerable as he had when Moana had found out about his human mother, but Maui almost instantly covered it up by raising his brow. “I didn’t think you’d notice that I was gone. You were busy being daughter of the chief and master wayfinder, teaching and leading the people and all that. It looked boring so I went off to do my own thing. I made sure to check in on you once a year or so, but when I didn’t see you on the ocean this year I came back to the island. Where I found you busy with still more chief duties. Talk about boring. Give me a boat and my freedom any day. That many people would only weigh me down."

A suspicion was dawning on Moana, and out of the corner of her eye she saw mini-Maui cross his arms and start tapping his foot, glaring up at the larger demigod. Maui was covering something up.

“So you didn’t want to be bogged down by the daily lives of the little people?” she asked, deliberately switching to a lighter tone.

Maui grinned, relieved at her sudden understanding. “Exactly!”

“You prefer to run off and do heroic deeds so that people will praise you and thank you for everything you’ve done for them, treating you as a man apart.”

“More or less, curly. Nothing wrong with a little thanks for all the great things I’ve done for you--”

“Roaming the seas, living only by your wits and powers. Testing the mettle of your demi-godhood as you alone could do to improve the lives of humanity, without any humans tying you down? No ties to any place or person?”

“Exactly!”

“Maui,” Moana interrupted, not bothering to mask her sadness, “that sounds incredibly lonely.”

Maui gaped at Moana, sputtering, but before he could articulate a denial Mini-Maui had pulled up his tally board and added another line to Moana’s side.

“ _You_! Help _less_!” Maui hissed, flicking Mini-Maui away from his pectoral and onto his back, where he wouldn’t be able to embarrass Maui further. “As for you, princess--”

“Maui,” Moana interrupted softly. “It’s okay. I’m not…judging you for it. I just want to understand. Was that really how you lived before you stole the heart of Te Fiti? Was there really nowhere that you wanted to call home?”

Maui shrugged, his expression closed. “There was always one island or another I could stop by if I needed to. They’d hold feasts in my honour, I’d stay with them for a while, and then I’d be off again with their provisions and good wishes, wherever the wind took me. No one was really interested in hosting the trouble that tended to follow me so no one ever really wanted me to stay very long. Better to thank me with a party and send me on my way before monsters started targeting their islands. They were always happier when I left than when I arrived.”

Moana drew in a deep breath and placed her hand on Maui’s arm, needing to do something to comfort her friend after hearing the bitterness in his voice. Maui was clearly defensive over this, and while she wanted to support him, she didn’t want to push him to talk if he wasn’t ready.

“You are always welcome on my island or my boat Maui, and you are always welcome to talk to me about anything. Incoming trouble or not,” Moana told him, smiling softly.

Maui gave her a small smile—not his usual arrogant smirk she was delighted to note, but a real smile. “You’re a good kid, Moana.”

Moana scowled and poked him in the side. “I’m twenty!”

Maui chuckled. “A good mini-chief then.”

Moana smiled at Maui and then released his arm, turning her gaze back to the ocean, which swelled up when it saw it had her attention.

“I believe I promised you a dance,” Moana told it, smiling. The ocean nodded enthusiastically and sent up small streams of water in excitement. Laughing, Moana stepped forward into the surf and raised her arms. She took a deep breath and started to dance in the way her grandmother had taught her. It gave both her and Maui a bit of time to recover as well as well as providing balm to Moana’s need to be near the sea.

The last time she had danced like this was when her grandmother was still alive. The first year she’d been back it had been too painful to attempt alone, and the other years she was _on_ the ocean instead of dancing with it. And it soon became apparent that this time was going to be different for still more reasons than being the first time Moana danced with the ocean alone. Unlike when she danced with her grandmother, the ocean started moving in time with Moana’s gestures, with different gestures resulting in different movements on the part of the ocean. Delighted, Moana laughed.

“Maui! Have you ever seen the ocean like this?” she asked, not taking her eyes from the water.

“I haven’t actually. Not ever,” Maui replied.

Glancing at him over her shoulder, Moana raised an eyebrow. “Not even for you? Demigod of the wind and sea? Hero to all?”

Maui snorted, sitting down next to Hei-Hei, idly pushing the bird towards the pile of seeds any time the bird went off course. “Hardly princess. They called me demigod of the sea because I knew how to work with it and get it to work for me whatever its mood, and how to sail across it whatever the weather. The ocean and I understand each other, even though that’s not always comfortable for either of us. We’re old friends, and also old adversaries. I know it better than anyone. But I’ve never seen it react to anyone the way it reacts to you.”

Moana smiled at him, pleased that he would volunteer even that much information about himself. She went back to dancing with the ocean, listening to its sounds, the wind in the trees, Hei-Hei contentedly pecking. The silence helped to ground her after a long day working with other people.

It apparently did not sit as well with Maui, who began shifting in place after a few minutes, and soon opened his mouth to dispatch the silence. “It wasn’t just the islanders who avoided prolonged contact with me. I wasn’t really open to being around other people for extended periods of time. I wanted their praise and their thanks--not to mention their feasts, islanders throw way better parties than animals or sea creatures, let me tell you–but I was wary of trusting them any farther than that. Humans and I didn’t have the best track record after all. I wasn’t all that willing to befriend them.”

Moana thought about the tattoo on Maui’s upper back, the one of his mother throwing him into the sea. Yes, she could understand why he had been reluctant to let people get too close to him. Not pausing her dance, she asked him, “Were you worried about that with me?”

She heard Maui shift behind her. “At first, yes. The ocean was on your side, I didn’t have my hook, you had the heart of Tei-Fiti which was responsible for my isolation on that island… Yeah, I could have thrown you farther than I trusted you at first.”

He had certainly tried, Moana thought, remembering all the times he’d tossed her from the boat.

“What changed?” Moana asked.

Maui was got very quiet, which was deeply unnerving. Moana wasn’t sure he’d known the meaning of the word. She was starting to regret having asked the question when Maui finally replied. “I got to know you. You got me and my hook out of the realm of monsters, then helped me figure out why I couldn’t use it. And you didn’t do it to save your own skin, you were…weirdly invested in me as a person, rather than as a means to an end. You had no desire to praise me based on past accomplishments, but were determined to make sure that I was alright. Took me a while to get my head around it, but eventually I figured it meant you weren’t all bad.”

Moana’s answering grin was huge, and she was glad she was still facing the ocean so Maui didn’t see how much his words meant to her. She had a feeling she’d never hear the end of it. But still! Maui’s compliments were… almost non-existent. Him saying she “wasn’t all bad” was the equivalent of anyone else showering her with gifts.

But.

“Then why did you disappear for so long?” Moana asked quietly. “Why the spying, why the distance? What was the real reason?”

Maui coughed, and while Moana wanted to turn around and see his face (a flustered demigod was not something you got to see every day, especially when the demigod was as cocky as Maui) she had a feeling that the instant she turned around to look at him, he’d go back to deflecting her questions. So she mastered her curiosity and kept dancing with the ocean, keeping her movements soothing and calm.

She heard Maui sigh and mutter something under his breath, too low for Moana to hear over the waves.

“Maui, I can’t hear you--” Moana replied, discreetly gesturing to the ocean to quiet down, but Maui replied all in a rush.

“I said I might–potentially–have been worried about losing you. And what that would do to me. And I might–MIGHT–have panicked a bit when I thought about how many ways you could die. It hit me when you were on the ocean with your people on your first wayfinding expedition. I was so proud of you, here you were, just a kid and you’d breathed new life into your village, Ti Fiti, and even into me. You’d stolen the heart of the ocean–figuratively speaking, I can’t even begin to tell you how hard it is to steal the literal heart of the ocean–but it struck me that this was only a moment. Fleeting. And that your life was going to be so much shorter than mine, which wasn’t fair because you were such a good kid and I might have…panicked when I realised that I was going to outlive you.”

Moana was stunned. “You were worried about losing me?”

Maui cleared his throat. “It kind of hit me all at once. I was new to the friendship thing and I didn’t know how to process it.”

“You were worried about losing me and then _stayed away from me for four years?!_ ” Moana demanded, shooting Maui a disbelieving look over her shoulder.

“No!” Maui snapped, and Moana saw that he was struggling for words and clamped down on her own retort. Maui was new to this. She had to remember that.

“Not exactly,” Maui amended, running a hand over his face. “For the first year, I sort of did anything to avoid processing the fact that you were human and what that meant. A lot of monsters got killed and a lot of new islands got pulled up. As I’m sure you’re not surprised by, avoiding the issue didn’t help. By the time I realised that the only thing that what _would_ help was making the most of the time our lives did overlap, two years had gone by. And while I wanted to see you again I wasn’t sure what your reaction would be to seeing me after I’d been gone so long. So I checked in on you, you weren’t hard to find, I just had to find where the ocean was happiest and inevitably you would be there. But you were always busy with your people, and seemed happy, so I hung back. Figured you outgrew me and that I shouldn’t interfere with your current happiness.”

 Moana blinked. “Maui, that’s not how friendship works. I mean granted, I would have liked to hear from you a little more frequently, and I’m not excited that you kept out of my way because you assumed it was best for me, but you’re Maui! Hero to all, saver of my life, teacher of wayfinding and my companion chicken watcher. I did not outgrow you, I missed you every day. And, as long as you promise to _never do this to me again_ , I’ll forgive you. But if you ever do this to me again…well, let’s just say the ocean, Hei-Hei and I will have to get creative.”

Maui’s entire face brightened and he grinned. “Sounds like a deal to me, curly. No more disappearing for years or making assumptions about your life on threat of creative chicken sabotage. I can do that.”

Moana smiled back at him. “Good.”

Moana turned back to the ocean, who perked right back up as Moana gave it her attention. She felt rather than saw Maui eyeing both of them, trying to work something out. Shrugging mentally, Moana picked up the dance where she had left off.

Eventually Maui spoke again, interrupting her thoughts. “Mo? Question for you now, how come you’re not on the ocean this year?”  
  
Moana stiffened without meaning to. She forced herself to relax, ending her dance with the ocean with a flourish, then sat in the sand next to Maui on the opposite side of Hei-Hei and the driftwood. “Because I have a duty to all my people, not just the wayfinders among them. It was pointed out to me that things on the island have changed dramatically since the last time I was here in the growing season, and that that I would benefit from letting my people teach me about the changes.”

“What, the fact that you restored the heart of Ti fiti and taught them to wayfind wasn’t enough for them? Doesn’t sound like they’re any kind of grateful, curly, you sure they’re worth it?” Maui replied, cocking an eyebrow at her.

Moana started, looking at the demigod with nothing short of bewilderment. “That’s not it at all! Being part of a community, leading the community means I have to _understand_ the community. How everything functions as a whole, from the fishermen to the coconut harvesters to the wayfinders, to the stupid chickens and even to the occasional spying demigod. If I give any one part of that community too much of my time, it creates an imbalance. People start wondering if I value some parts of the community more than others.”

“Sounds complicated,” Maui replied, tone the essence of boredom, face scrunched up to make it apparent that he regretted asking.

Moana poked him in the side. “In practice yes, but the concept is actually pretty simple. It’s essential to a being a good leader, actually. In order to lead my people, I have to understand them. To understand them, I must understand their lives. I’m on the island this year so my people can guide me and help me become a better leader to them in the future by showing me how they live and work when they’re not on the ocean.”

Maui grunted, “Are there this many complications in being a regular villager, or it just more complicated for you because you’re a princess?”

“Chief’s daughter,” Moana corrected automatically.                                                  

“Semantics,” Maui replied, opting to lie back in the sand and stretch out, his fishhook beside him.

It occurred to Moana that the concept of community and working together would be something almost entirely alien to Maui. She remembered their first disastrous attempt at restoring the heart, where Maui had tried to restore it independently even when it became clear he couldn’t do it alone, and how furious he’d been when she’d stepped in to help and he’d had to protect her. Considering what she’d just learned about Maui always being on his own, she wondered if part of the rage when his hook had been damaged was panic because he hadn’t known how to work with another person. It gave her an added understanding as to why Maui had abandoned her in the first place, and made her appreciate even more that he’d chosen to come back.

Moana opted to lie next to Maui in the sand, hoping Hei-Hei was content enough with his food and wouldn’t come over to peck either of them the nose, which had been known to happen, and answered the question Maui had actually asked. “It’s a bit different for me because I’m the leader, or at least I’m going to be someday, but the whole community has a responsibility to try and work together,” Moana responded, looking up at the clouds. “Of course it never goes quite that smoothly, and it’s my job to assist or sort out any conflicts that get too out of hand, but… if any of us are going to thrive we all need each other, because we all have different strengths. No one can do everything by themselves, and we’ve all learned that a community that works together, even when we’re not all physically together, is stronger and makes for a better way of life.”

“The gods don’t do it that way you know,” Maui answered, voice free of its usual cockiness. “I suppose it comes from being all powerful, but they’re not much for the all for one and one for all mentality that you’ve got going on here. They tend to be more…”

“Distant?” Moana offered when Maui didn’t continue.

“I guess. But I’ll be honest, Mo, your way sounds like it would be a lot better,” Maui responded.

Moana hesitated, hearing the longing underneath the words, then screwed up her courage and spoke. “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like to, Maui. There’s a place for you here with us on Montinui.”

Maui sat up abruptly. “Are you crazy, curly? Me? _Here_? I’d never be able to fit into your community--”

“Up until four years ago my father would have said the same thing about wayfinding,” Moana pointed out. “It may not be a seamless transition getting you integrated, and I admit I have this strong suspicion that you’re going to be an awful lot of work--”

“Hey!” Maui cried out, indignant.

“—but regardless of anything else, you are my friend, Maui. And friends make room in their homes and in their lives for each other. You are more than welcome to make your home with us,” Moana finished, meeting Maui’s gaze fiercely.

Maui was stunned. Moana didn’t think she had ever seen him at so much at a loss for words.

“Moana… I would love to, but I really do have responsibilities that will take me away from the island for weeks, if not months at a time. I don’t think I can contribute the way your people--”

“It’s not like I’m around all the time either,” Moana pointed out, sitting up so Maui would know she was not afraid of this conversation. “You don’t have to stay there all the time. Home means different things to different people. For my father, home is the island where his family has lead for generation after generation. For my mother, it is wherever everyone can be together and be happy. For me, home is where you journey from at the beginning, and return to at the end. It can be that for you as well, if you want it. Besides, your demigod responsibilities are mostly to our benefit, right? You don’t have to be just like us in order to be an important part of the community. You don’t have to match us exactly for your contributions to matter.”

Mini-Maui started applauding wildly, looking expectantly up at Maui’s face. Maui however, was still staring at Moana, not giving the slightest bit of attention to his dancing tattoo.

“…What?” Moana asked, eyes flicking from the tattoo to Maui’s stunned expression.

“You know when we met and I teased you about being an odd choice for the ocean, because you were young and you couldn’t sail?” Maui asked, still looking dazed.

“Of course, Maui. Our whole adventure is rather embedded into my memory,” Moana said dryly.

“I’ll admit it, I was insufferable to you. Here you were, this tiny scrap of humanity fighting tooth and nail to do the right thing, while all I wanted to do was get my hook and run away. I couldn’t figure out why the ocean picked you to try and save the world, what it possibly thought was so special about you,” Maui said, the dazzled expression starting to fade.

“Oh yeah?” Moana asked, not sure where this was going.

“I think I’ve figured it out now. You don’t give up on anyone, do you?”

Moana smiled and covered Maui’s hand with hers. “I really don’t. Was that a yes? Are you staying?

Maui chuckled. “That was a yes, curly.”

Moana broke out into a huge smile. “YES!” She cried, flinging both arms around Maui’s neck for a brief hug then scrambling to her feet. “We’ll need to make you a hut–I suppose you can use mum and dad’s for now but you’ll need something longer term, and my place is too small for you, we’d never make it work—oh but I’ll talk to the villagers, it will be fine eventually—probably. Oh I wonder if we still have any of those...” Moana trailed off, seeing that the dazed expression was back in Maui’s eyes, and he hadn’t moved from where he was sitting in the sand.

Moana paused and smiled at him, then offered him her hand. “C’mon Maui. Let’s introduce you to the village.”

Maui didn’t move, and indeed Moana was wondering if he’d changed his mind until Hei-Hei wandered up to the demigod and pecked him soundly on the foot.

“Oi! Watch it, drumstick!” Maui cursed, jumping up and away from Hei-Hei while pointing his fishhook at the chicken.

Moana rolled her eyes and scooped the chicken up into her arms before it started pecking the fishhook. “No harming the village idiot chicken. It’s a rule.”

Maui muttered something uncharitable under his breath that Moana pretended not to hear. Instead, she simply grabbed his free hand and started gently tugging him towards the village. “C’mon Maui. Let’s get you settled in.”

“Alright, alright, curly. I’m coming, no need to drag me,” Maui replied.

“Another rule you’ll want to keep in mind is that I forbid you from doing any more spying on me. If you want to know something or see me, just come see me. None of this lurking from afar nonsense. Am I clear?” Moana told him, continuing to tug the demigod along.

“Yes, princess,” Maui said dryly.

“Chief’s daughter! And one more thing, Maui, that I want you to remember every time you’re on this island. No exceptions. It applies every time you set foot here, so you need to keep it in mind.”

“…Yes?” Maui said, voice uncertain.

Moana looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Welcome home.”

Maui didn’t say anything in response, and Moana didn’t push the conversation farther, but as Maui met the elders and villagers of Montinui, he couldn’t hide his surprised smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for more matchmaking chicken shenanigans. This is only the start.


End file.
